Luna's Dolphin guitar is a remarkable dreadnought featuring a trinity of inlaid rosewood dolphins swimming around the sound hole against a solid Sitka spruce top. An ancient symbol of of security and joy, pictures of dolphins are common in the catacombs of Rome. The 4-band EQ has a digital tuner and the fretboard is adorned with moon-shaped mother-of-pearl inlays.

FEATURES

Rosewood Inlaid "Dolphin" Sound Hole

Solid Sitka Spruce Top

Rosewood Back & Sides

Dreadnought Cutaway

Neck: Mahogany/Rosewood

Mother-of-pearl Inlaid Moon Phase Fret Markers

Preamp: Orion 4-Band EQ w/ Digital Tuner

Scale Length: 25 1⁄2"

Nut Width: 1 5/8"

The rich tone leaps from the solid Sitka spruce top. Save big if you buy today.

I don't own one but I played two of these Lunas -- the dolphin dreadnought shown here and the parlor, both in the spruce top -- and I inspected several of the other acoustic models. (A funky small-time guitar shop near me just started carrying them.) I was pleasantly surprised. Fit and finish: very good over all; tuners are no-name but seem tight, tuned well, and held; the onboard electrics include a tuner (convenient); and the ornamentation is cleanly done, really quite pretty, and extremely varied -- if you want this kind of thing you can get dolphins, flowers, a sort of celtic three-part hole instead of a soundhole ... check out Luna's website for the whole shebang. Playability: neck is fairly thin like a Taylor or an electric (designed for female hands, perhaps?); sounded best fingerstyle or with a light attack; sounded pretty much exactly like a Seagull 6 with a spruce top, which means a bit soft and earthy, with a bit higher action that I would prefer, and not as much distinction in the different strings' notes as on a Taylor 400 series or midrange Martin, but very good for a sub $500 guitar. Put in Elixir light strings and you'd have a solid instrument. I see this as a good value in a beginner guitar that will last the player until he/she needs a real performance instrument, and even then will get a lot of nostalgic playing time. I might even buy one of the crazier models just for the looks. The availability of all these inlays and soundhole options at such a low price is a real distinguishing feature -- it's what will get this brand noticed -- and it's respectable enough that a beginner is not going to be held back.